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neilrcoulter's review
3.0
I'm not the primary intended audience for this book, so my review may not be worth much. I was an English literature minor at Wheaton College (and took several classes from [a:Ryken|60789|Leland Ryken|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1201100564p2/60789.jpg]), and I went on to a master's and Ph.D. in the humanities; I read and re-read almost constantly, and I'm always analyzing and criticizing what I read; and as a big fan of [a:Lewis|1069006|C.S. Lewis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1367519078p2/1069006.jpg] and [a:Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1383526938p2/656983.jpg], I've read many books about them, their lives, and their works. So for me, there was not much new in this reader's guide. I was hoping for more explanation of Lewis's inspirations for characters, settings, and events in [b:The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe|19314344|The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia)|Lewis Clive|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1386610332s/19314344.jpg|27364611], but the authors don't delve much into that. Instead, they breeze through a number of broad literary themes and archetypes, encouraging the reader to consider how these general concepts are fleshed out in the story. It's too bad that this book was written a few years before [a:Michael Ward|194177|Michael Ward|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1334264406p2/194177.jpg]'s amazing book, [b:Planet Narnia|1800794|Planet Narnia The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis|Michael Ward|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348068661s/1800794.jpg|1799947], which I've found to be the most helpful commentary on the Narnia series.
The reader's guide goes through the novel chapter by chapter, with sections of discussion or reflection questions for each chapter. It could be useful for book groups, especially a Christian group that has some experience with the Bible.
In an appendix, the authors recommend starting the Narnia series with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, rather than with [b:The Magician's Nephew|65605|The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)|C.S. Lewis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1308814770s/65605.jpg|1031537], which is first in the story chronology but sixth in the original publications. Every Narnia fan has an opinion on the proper order in which to read the series. I think either book works well as the entry into the world of Narnia. To me, many of Ryken and Mead's arguments in favor of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as the first book are equally valid applied to The Magician's Nephew. No matter which book you start with, that's the book in which Aslan will be mysterious as he is slowly introduced. Then when you get to the other book, you'll already have some idea where you are and where the story is going.